New member needs help

[lurechunker]

I am new to the forum and asking for help. Our granddaughter plays basketball and I would like to photograph her. I kayak and would like to photograph birds. Is the EOS 760D the camera for me? Other? What lens or lenses? How can I protect my equipment form damage from saltwater? Thank you.

[lurechunker]

I took the 100-400 off and put on the 18-55 and it seemed to be normal. Looked at 100-400 and it was in 3m-infenity mode. Moved it to "full" and seems to be okay again. Will check the images and let you know.

[lurechunker]

Images seem normal now. Why would the 3M mode on the 100-400 L ll make a difference?

[jrhoffman75]

3M to Infinity means lens will only look to focus on an object in that distance range. If you were trying to focus on an object closer than 3M lens won't focus and if camera can't achieve focus shutter won't actuate. 

[Waddizzle]

The 3M to Infinity mode is probably what you'll be using for action shots when subjects are more than 10 feet away.

[ebiggs1]

"Are there any free editing applications that I could start with?"

Yes but none are Photoshop!  Most are not even Lightroom. But some come close to it as LR is a much lesser editor.  Darktable is one.  Affinity is a very good reasonabley priced editor.

Gimp is as close as you can get to PS.  It is not PS, however.  If you want it to be more like PS you need to get the add on Gimpshop.  It adds the GUI interface to Gimp.  Gimp does raw an does it well.  To me it is a far more difficult program to learn but, hey, it's free.

DPP from Canon is free and is almost LR.  Use it.  

[John_SD]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

DPP from Canon is free and is almost LR.  Use it.  

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I've been using DPP from the beginning. For me, I have no reason at this point to try another product as I am quite happy with DPP's functionality. It has proven to be more robust than I would have imagined when I started with it. Of course, I am a firm believer in self-study, and so I downloaded the user guide and made use of Canon's tutorial links. Without them, a beginner like me woiuld have floundered. YMMV. 

[jrhoffman75]

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/product/canon_software/dpp_video_tutorials.do

[John_SD]

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@jrhoffman75 wrote:
http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/product/canon_software/dpp_video_tutorials.do

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Those European ones are good. I used these 6 from Canon USA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRt6PKLYiXY&list=PLUHhKfV_z4wc1hgYDzaRtqNg5fwbUp3y_

[lurechunker]

As you know, I have an 80D, 18-55 and a 100-400 L ll. I may trade the 100-400 for a Tamron 150-600 G2 and add a 2.8 70-200. I will appreciate your expert opinions. 

[Waddizzle]

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@lurechunker wrote:

As you know, I have an 80D, 18-55 and a 100-400 L ll. I may trade the 100-400 for a Tamron 150-600 G2 and add a 2.8 70-200. I will appreciate your expert opinions. 

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Your Canon DPP software will not recognize non-Canon lenses and apply Lens Correction.  The images will likely appear to have small amounts of vignetting, which only gets worse as you increase focal length.  Although, the APS-C sensor in the 80D could crop the vignetting away, and you may never notice it.

The 100-400 is a fantastic lens, which can be handheld without too much issues with a little practice.  The 150-600 lenses are all real beasts.  You will want to use some form of support with it to get the best results.  

I considered the Sigma and the Tamron lenses, and went for the Sigma because of the Sigma Dock and the zoom lock switch. I can lock the Sigma at 150, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600mm.  Lens creep is not an issue with it.  I always felt it was soft above 500mm, but a recent firmware update reportedly included a new AF algorithm and it seems like a new and different lens.

I own 100-400 like yours, and I can carry it mounted to a body in my holster bag.  Not so with the Sigma 150-600 "C".  I can carry two camera bodies with mounted a 100-400 and a 70-200 quite easily in my bag,  The Sigma tends to be an all or nothing lens, not unless i break out the 30L backpack.  

I would keep the 100-400, because it can last a lifetime.  I prefer the images from the 100-400 over the 150-600, too.  I am tempted to get a 1.4x extender for it..